Poe appeals to the popular imagination because he scares us to death. The yen for sensation feeds our fascination with terror; just as moviegoers rush to the latest horror film to be frightened out of their minds, so too do they read PoeΒs hairraising tales of shipwrecks or premature burial to experience the frisson of near-encounters with annihilation. (Kennedy, 24) So one can see why The Raven has arrested the attention of bookworms nationwide. Simply put, The Raven is a tale of derangement. It recalls the story of a man who wakes from his slumber because of a tapping noise he heard at his door. Upon inspecting this strange tapping, the man is disoriented at the fact that no one is there; there is only darkness. He whispers the name, Lenore, to the darkness, and the only response is the echo of his own voice. The tapping continues, but this time from his window, he opens his window, and at that moment, a mere Raven appears and decides to let itself inside. The Raven flies into his room and lands on a bust of Pallas. He approaches the Raven and asks for its name, and the Raven replies with the word nevermore. The man is equally shocked and intrigued at this birds remark and spends the remainder of the poem attempting to pick the birds brain. The man eventually comes to the conclusion that the Raven is meant to remind him of Lenore or to bring him a message from Lenore Β a lady he, presumably, once adored but who has since died. Poe becomes enraged with the Raven since his only response is nevermore, leading Poe to assume that the Raven is belittling him along wit
h his greatest wish to be rejoined with his long-lost beloved. The Raven, still perched, casts its shadow over the man and he says that [his] soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor Shall be liftednevermore! (Poe, lines 07-08).
One characteristic of Gothic literature Poe chooses to incorporate into this poem is attempting to converse with those who have passed away. The man notices that the Raven is trying to communicate with him, and he quickly suspects that itΒs his lover seeking to connect with him from the afterlife. This assumption of who the messenger truly is relieves his sorrow by reassuring him that she is safe, but it also brings with it a fresher and deeper agony because now he longs for her even more. Another Gothic characteristic in this poem is the dark and mysterious atmosphere that Poe creates from the very first line. Poe masterfully sets the scene by writing, Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, (Poe, line ). In this one line, we already know that its a dreary midnight and that our narrator is feeling worn out. He also starts the poem with the words once upon which gives it the same mystical feel as a fairytale, but this is quickly contrasted by the eerie imagery to come. Poe purposefully crafts this melancholic world that echoes the sadness of his own character. For our miserable, heartbroken narrator, reality appears dreary and frightening, and everything, including darkness, reminds him of his lost Lenore. Even the lamp, which serves as a light source, ultimately reminds him of his persisting sadness.